French Press

News & events

vintage 1930s Elsa Schiaparelli/Salvador Dali lobster dress A selection of stuff I have been up to of late: Here’s a story I did for Today.com on my doctor suggesting I go on Ozempic and why she ended up apologizing. (WARNING: I just clicked on it and there’s a big video of old people having sex at the top of the page? I am pro-old-people-having-sex (obv) but I was not expecting that?) Here’s a piece I did for Vox on “Jewface” and Bradley Cooper’s farshtunkiner nose. Here’s an interview I did with the Jewish Women’s Archive; I love this organization. Here’s a NYT book review of a bunch of middle-grade novels about witches. I have another Vox piece coming out tomorrow and I have a bunch of speaking gigs coming up, but I don’t know which engagements are open to the public and which aren’t. Sorry. Maybe I should just say “Houston and Cleveland, I am coming for you!” 

image is a photo of a white cat wearing a cheesehead and looking unhappy about itSorry I have been neglectful of this site. Life intervened. (That was a halfassed, crappy apology, for which I am also sorry.)

But hey, let’s talk about upcoming appearances! I’ll be in Evanston, IL at Bookends and Beginnings on Thursday at 6pm, in conversation about apology with Danya Ruttenberg, introduced by Kate Harding! Badass women both. More info here.

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry was chosen as a Jewish Women’s Archive Book Club Pick, and you can sign up for the club here. I’ll be doing a live, virtual book talk on October 19; register for the link here.

Most recent Sorry, Sorry, Sorry sightings:  My co-author Susan and I had a fab time on Mind/Shift, a podcast about ideas from San Francisco’s KQED; journalist Kara Newhouse also quoted us in her smart story about teaching kids to apologize. (Pro tip: You might also enjoy “I’m Sorry I Chased You With a Booger,” an excerpt from our book on this very subject, at Newsweek.) I was also quoted in a story in Good Housekeeping about making a choice about whether to hold onto a grudge, which basically meant me saying “OK, define ‘grudge.’” Some things are unforgivable, and choosing not to forgive them is not a character flaw. Some people use the word “grudge” when they have their own selfish reasons (family harmony, different political views, ingrained biases) for wanting you to “let bygones be bygones.” Which is another phrase I am not fond of, btw. 

I couldn’t think of a good photo for this post, so here is my late cat Yoyo wearing a cheesehead. 

My SORRY, SORRY, SORRY co-author Susan McCarthy and I will be appearing at the Word on the Street Book Festival in Toronto on May 27th. “A national celebration of reading, writing, and literacy,” the festival features over a hundred authors. We’ll be at Queens Park Crescent; pray for good weather! I’ve never been to Toronto and am super-excited.

He's Sorry She's Sorry

I was quoted on 2/28/22 in a terrific piece by Jessica Bennett in the New York Times about apologies:

“He’s Sorry. She’s Sorry. Everybody’s Sorry. Does it Matter?”

Naoko Rainbow Pottery

 

I loved doing this piece in SorryWatch on a kintsugi artist and the parallels between her work and the art of apology.

Purim

 

Here’s an essay I wrote on using the story of Purim to discuss antisemitism with kids, at PJ Library.

Kosher Butcher

Lessons from the Kosher Meat Boycott (what today’s activists could learn from a woman-led 1902 uprising on the Lower East Side). 

Herschel

Here’s a fun piece from The Horn Book about what makes a good Hanukkah picture book

Mrs. Maisel

 

Here’s one from Town & Country placing The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel within the history of American Jewish comedy and women in comedy. 

So Many Books

 

Here’s my NYT piece on the sheer numbers of Holocaust books for children.

Black Lives Matter Protest

Here’s a piece from the summer of 2020 on explaining police brutality to kids. The difficulties in getting it published spurred me to start thinking seriously about quitting Tablet. (It took me another six months, including taking time off.)

image is a photo of a white cat wearing a cheesehead and looking unhappy about itSorry I have been neglectful of this site. Life intervened. (That was a halfassed, crappy apology, for which I am also sorry.)

But hey, let’s talk about upcoming appearances! I’ll be in Evanston, IL at Bookends and Beginnings on Thursday at 6pm, in conversation about apology with Danya Ruttenberg, introduced by Kate Harding! Badass women both. More info here.

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry was chosen as a Jewish Women’s Archive Book Club Pick, and you can sign up for the club here. I’ll be doing a live, virtual book talk on October 19; register for the link here.

Most recent Sorry, Sorry, Sorry sightings:  My co-author Susan and I had a fab time on Mind/Shift, a podcast about ideas from San Francisco’s KQED; journalist Kara Newhouse also quoted us in her smart story about teaching kids to apologize. (Pro tip: You might also enjoy “I’m Sorry I Chased You With a Booger,” an excerpt from our book on this very subject, at Newsweek.) I was also quoted in a story in Good Housekeeping about making a choice about whether to hold onto a grudge, which basically meant me saying “OK, define ‘grudge.’” Some things are unforgivable, and choosing not to forgive them is not a character flaw. Some people use the word “grudge” when they have their own selfish reasons (family harmony, different political views, ingrained biases) for wanting you to “let bygones be bygones.” Which is another phrase I am not fond of, btw. 

I couldn’t think of a good photo for this post, so here is my late cat Yoyo wearing a cheesehead. 

My SORRY, SORRY, SORRY co-author Susan McCarthy and I will be appearing at the Word on the Street Book Festival in Toronto on May 27th. “A national celebration of reading, writing, and literacy,” the festival features over a hundred authors. We’ll be at Queens Park Crescent; pray for good weather! I’ve never been to Toronto and am super-excited.

He's Sorry She's Sorry

I was quoted on 2/28/22 in a terrific piece by Jessica Bennett in the New York Times about apologies:

“He’s Sorry. She’s Sorry. Everybody’s Sorry. Does it Matter?”

Naoko Rainbow Pottery

 

I loved doing this piece in SorryWatch on a kintsugi artist and the parallels between her work and the art of apology.

Purim

 

Here’s an essay I wrote on using the story of Purim to discuss antisemitism with kids, at PJ Library.

Kosher Butcher

Lessons from the Kosher Meat Boycott (what today’s activists could learn from a woman-led 1902 uprising on the Lower East Side). 

Herschel

Here’s a fun piece from The Horn Book about what makes a good Hanukkah picture book

Mrs. Maisel

 

Here’s one from Town & Country placing The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel within the history of American Jewish comedy and women in comedy. 

So Many Books

 

Here’s my NYT piece on the sheer numbers of Holocaust books for children.

Black Lives Matter Protest

Here’s a piece from the summer of 2020 on explaining police brutality to kids. The difficulties in getting it published spurred me to start thinking seriously about quitting Tablet. (It took me another six months, including taking time off.)

image is a photo of a white cat wearing a cheesehead and looking unhappy about itSorry I have been neglectful of this site. Life intervened. (That was a halfassed, crappy apology, for which I am also sorry.)

But hey, let’s talk about upcoming appearances! I’ll be in Evanston, IL at Bookends and Beginnings on Thursday at 6pm, in conversation about apology with Danya Ruttenberg, introduced by Kate Harding! Badass women both. More info here.

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry was chosen as a Jewish Women’s Archive Book Club Pick, and you can sign up for the club here. I’ll be doing a live, virtual book talk on October 19; register for the link here.

Most recent Sorry, Sorry, Sorry sightings:  My co-author Susan and I had a fab time on Mind/Shift, a podcast about ideas from San Francisco’s KQED; journalist Kara Newhouse also quoted us in her smart story about teaching kids to apologize. (Pro tip: You might also enjoy “I’m Sorry I Chased You With a Booger,” an excerpt from our book on this very subject, at Newsweek.) I was also quoted in a story in Good Housekeeping about making a choice about whether to hold onto a grudge, which basically meant me saying “OK, define ‘grudge.’” Some things are unforgivable, and choosing not to forgive them is not a character flaw. Some people use the word “grudge” when they have their own selfish reasons (family harmony, different political views, ingrained biases) for wanting you to “let bygones be bygones.” Which is another phrase I am not fond of, btw. 

I couldn’t think of a good photo for this post, so here is my late cat Yoyo wearing a cheesehead. 

My SORRY, SORRY, SORRY co-author Susan McCarthy and I will be appearing at the Word on the Street Book Festival in Toronto on May 27th. “A national celebration of reading, writing, and literacy,” the festival features over a hundred authors. We’ll be at Queens Park Crescent; pray for good weather! I’ve never been to Toronto and am super-excited.

He's Sorry She's Sorry

I was quoted on 2/28/22 in a terrific piece by Jessica Bennett in the New York Times about apologies:

“He’s Sorry. She’s Sorry. Everybody’s Sorry. Does it Matter?”

Naoko Rainbow Pottery

 

I loved doing this piece in SorryWatch on a kintsugi artist and the parallels between her work and the art of apology.

Purim

 

Here’s an essay I wrote on using the story of Purim to discuss antisemitism with kids, at PJ Library.

Kosher Butcher

Lessons from the Kosher Meat Boycott (what today’s activists could learn from a woman-led 1902 uprising on the Lower East Side). 

Herschel

Here’s a fun piece from The Horn Book about what makes a good Hanukkah picture book

Mrs. Maisel

 

Here’s one from Town & Country placing The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel within the history of American Jewish comedy and women in comedy. 

So Many Books

 

Here’s my NYT piece on the sheer numbers of Holocaust books for children.

Black Lives Matter Protest

Here’s a piece from the summer of 2020 on explaining police brutality to kids. The difficulties in getting it published spurred me to start thinking seriously about quitting Tablet. (It took me another six months, including taking time off.)

image is a photo of a white cat wearing a cheesehead and looking unhappy about itSorry I have been neglectful of this site. Life intervened. (That was a halfassed, crappy apology, for which I am also sorry.)

But hey, let’s talk about upcoming appearances! I’ll be in Evanston, IL at Bookends and Beginnings on Thursday at 6pm, in conversation about apology with Danya Ruttenberg, introduced by Kate Harding! Badass women both. More info here.

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry was chosen as a Jewish Women’s Archive Book Club Pick, and you can sign up for the club here. I’ll be doing a live, virtual book talk on October 19; register for the link here.

Most recent Sorry, Sorry, Sorry sightings:  My co-author Susan and I had a fab time on Mind/Shift, a podcast about ideas from San Francisco’s KQED; journalist Kara Newhouse also quoted us in her smart story about teaching kids to apologize. (Pro tip: You might also enjoy “I’m Sorry I Chased You With a Booger,” an excerpt from our book on this very subject, at Newsweek.) I was also quoted in a story in Good Housekeeping about making a choice about whether to hold onto a grudge, which basically meant me saying “OK, define ‘grudge.’” Some things are unforgivable, and choosing not to forgive them is not a character flaw. Some people use the word “grudge” when they have their own selfish reasons (family harmony, different political views, ingrained biases) for wanting you to “let bygones be bygones.” Which is another phrase I am not fond of, btw. 

I couldn’t think of a good photo for this post, so here is my late cat Yoyo wearing a cheesehead. 

My SORRY, SORRY, SORRY co-author Susan McCarthy and I will be appearing at the Word on the Street Book Festival in Toronto on May 27th. “A national celebration of reading, writing, and literacy,” the festival features over a hundred authors. We’ll be at Queens Park Crescent; pray for good weather! I’ve never been to Toronto and am super-excited.

He's Sorry She's Sorry

I was quoted on 2/28/22 in a terrific piece by Jessica Bennett in the New York Times about apologies:

“He’s Sorry. She’s Sorry. Everybody’s Sorry. Does it Matter?”

Naoko Rainbow Pottery

 

I loved doing this piece in SorryWatch on a kintsugi artist and the parallels between her work and the art of apology.

Purim

 

Here’s an essay I wrote on using the story of Purim to discuss antisemitism with kids, at PJ Library.

Kosher Butcher

Lessons from the Kosher Meat Boycott (what today’s activists could learn from a woman-led 1902 uprising on the Lower East Side). 

Herschel

Here’s a fun piece from The Horn Book about what makes a good Hanukkah picture book

Mrs. Maisel

 

Here’s one from Town & Country placing The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel within the history of American Jewish comedy and women in comedy. 

So Many Books

 

Here’s my NYT piece on the sheer numbers of Holocaust books for children.

Black Lives Matter Protest

Here’s a piece from the summer of 2020 on explaining police brutality to kids. The difficulties in getting it published spurred me to start thinking seriously about quitting Tablet. (It took me another six months, including taking time off.)

He's Sorry She's Sorry

I was quoted on 2/28/22 in a terrific piece by Jessica Bennett in the New York Times about apologies:

“He’s Sorry. She’s Sorry. Everybody’s Sorry. Does it Matter?”

Naoko Rainbow Pottery

 

I loved doing this piece in SorryWatch on a kintsugi artist and the parallels between her work and the art of apology.

Purim

 

Here’s an essay I wrote on using the story of Purim to discuss antisemitism with kids, at PJ Library.

Kosher Butcher

Lessons from the Kosher Meat Boycott (what today’s activists could learn from a woman-led 1902 uprising on the Lower East Side). 

Herschel

Here’s a fun piece from The Horn Book about what makes a good Hanukkah picture book

Mrs. Maisel

 

Here’s one from Town & Country placing The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel within the history of American Jewish comedy and women in comedy. 

So Many Books

 

Here’s my NYT piece on the sheer numbers of Holocaust books for children.

Black Lives Matter Protest

Here’s a piece from the summer of 2020 on explaining police brutality to kids. The difficulties in getting it published spurred me to start thinking seriously about quitting Tablet. (It took me another six months, including taking time off.)

He's Sorry She's Sorry

I was quoted on 2/28/22 in a terrific piece by Jessica Bennett in the New York Times about apologies:

“He’s Sorry. She’s Sorry. Everybody’s Sorry. Does it Matter?”

Naoko Rainbow Pottery

 

I loved doing this piece in SorryWatch on a kintsugi artist and the parallels between her work and the art of apology.

Purim

 

Here’s an essay I wrote on using the story of Purim to discuss antisemitism with kids, at PJ Library.

Kosher Butcher

Lessons from the Kosher Meat Boycott (what today’s activists could learn from a woman-led 1902 uprising on the Lower East Side). 

Herschel

Here’s a fun piece from The Horn Book about what makes a good Hanukkah picture book

Mrs. Maisel

 

Here’s one from Town & Country placing The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel within the history of American Jewish comedy and women in comedy. 

So Many Books

 

Here’s my NYT piece on the sheer numbers of Holocaust books for children.

Black Lives Matter Protest

Here’s a piece from the summer of 2020 on explaining police brutality to kids. The difficulties in getting it published spurred me to start thinking seriously about quitting Tablet. (It took me another six months, including taking time off.)